City reporting huge gains in sales tax revenue
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Jun. 10—The city of Greenville continues to see huge gains in sales tax rebate revenue, even before the opening of any local liquor stores.
The State of Texas is also notching records, according to Comptroller Glenn Hegar, who said state sales tax revenue recorded the highest-ever monthly total and 30.1 percent more than in May 2020, according to a report issued Wednesday by Hegar's office.
"Resurgent consumer spending drove monthly state sales tax collections to a new high," Hegar said. "Supported by the end of pandemic restrictions, further vaccination progress and declines in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, continued recovery in employment, and federal stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits, receipts from all retail sectors other than grocery stores surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Sales at retailers that had benefited from pandemic spending — online and big box general merchandisers, building materials and home furnishings stores, sporting goods and hobby stores — continued at elevated levels, while sales at retailers severely depressed last year, such as clothing stores and electronics and appliance stores, rebounded sharply from last spring."
Sales taxes are one of the two main sources of revenue, along with property taxes, which feed the city's general fund.
The majority of May sales tax revenue is based on sales made in April and remitted to the agency in May.
The city of Greenville reported receiving $881,781.22 in sales tax rebate revenue this month, representing an increase of 45.53% from the $605,874.49 received in June 2020. For the year to date, Greenville has taken in $4.9 million, 19.94% higher than the slightly more than $4 million received through June 2020.
The June sales tax rebate payment represents each city's portion of sales taxes collected at local merchants in April and reported to the Comptroller's office in May.
Greenville's first liquor store, Fossil Creek Liquor, opened in the Town South Shopping Center on May 14. Sales tax rebate revenue from May will be reported to the Comptroller's Office this month and will be included in the report issued in July.
